The Lord reminds us of a sobering fact: the path that leads to eternal life flows through a narrow gate, and every day we make choices that either lead us closer or farther away.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 30th Week of the Year
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Monthly Archives: October 2018
Daily Mass: Making big changes in little ways. Catholic Inspiration
Jesus offers two examples to show how with God’s help a small action on our part leads to big changes in our lives, inviting us to consider what small adaptations we can make to grow in our faith today.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 30th Week of the Year
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31st Sunday of the Year: Love the Lord with all your heart
Study: Consider an experience where you were unconditionally loved by another person. How did their love change you?
Pray: Is there someone in your life who is difficult to love right now? Ask the Lord for the strength to love others like Christ.
Serve: Love is not a feeling, but an act of the will. How can you put your love for others into action today?
Mass Readings – 31st Sunday of the Year
We see some common themes in the readings this week:
- 1st Reading – Love the Lord your God…heart, soul and strength
- Psalm – “I love you, Lord, my strength.”
- 2nd Reading – Jesus is forever our high priest
- Gospel – The Greatest Commandments…Love God and neighbor
At first glance we might easily take these ideas for granted; most of us have grown up with our Christian faith and have heard these messages from childhood. But what happens when we pause and reflect?
- God loves us, even when we make mistakes.
- God loves us, and invites us back into right relationship.
- God loves us, and keeps offering opportunities to grow in love.
- God loves us, and was born, lived, suffered, died and rose for us!
Loving God is not some melancholy obligation! The Lord made us for love and through the gift of faith we are invited to grow in love with God and one another. Simply put, each and every day we have the opportunity to become more and more like Christ – our teacher and example of love.
How can you foster God’s love in your life today? How can you find ways to express and implement love in your relationships? Our commandment to love finds its source, strength and glory in the love that God has for us. May we receive the Lord’s love for us today as we share that love in all aspects of our lives.
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30th Sunday of the Year: What do you want to see? Catholic Inspiration
When Jesus heals Bartimaeus, he does more than simply offer him sight. An encounter with Christ brings us into a direct experience of God’s grace and power; how we respond reveals our recognition of the many ways we see the Lord at work in our lives today.
Mass Readings – 30th Sunday of the Year
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Daily Mass: Get busy living a fruitful life. Catholic Inspiration
Our lives offer us an opportunity to grow and flourish in the grace of God. However, this chance to be spiritually fruitful lasts until the time when the Lord calls us into eternity, and from that moment there is no turning back.
Mass Readings – Saturday of the 29th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: Living our faith in times of trial. Catholic Inspiration
The Letter of the Ephesians offers a beautiful call to faith which can inspire us in the darkest moments of our lives. May we take these words to heart as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
Mass Readings – Friday of the 29th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: What will you choose? Catholic Inspiration
The Lord speaks of division – even within families – in the Gospel today. Why? Because in the end all of us will have to choose a path in life, either leading us to God or casting us away.
Mass Readings – Thursday of the 29th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: Live the blessing of your life. Catholic Inspiration
The end of today’s passage from the Gospel of Luke offers a powerful reminder: we are called to live the blessing of our lives to the fullest extent. What’s more, we will be judged, not in comparison to others, but in comparison to the gifts that God has placed within us.
Mass Readings – Wednesday of the 29th Week of the Year
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Daily Mass: Be present to the gift of today! Catholic Inspiration
The Lord exhorts the disciples to be ready and prepared. Each day is a precious gift, calling us to be present to the people in our lives as we strive to take care of any unfinished business. That way, when the Master calls, we will be quick to respond.
Mass Readings – Tuesday of the 29th Week of the Year
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30th Sunday of the Year: God’s power in our lives
Study: Where have you seen signs of God’s grace at work in your life? How did it change you?
Pray: Are there people or circumstances in your life that are wounded or hurting? Pray for healing power!
Serve: Do you see someone in need? How can you help them?
Mass Readings – 30th Sunday of the Year
The readings this week reveal a common theme of divine power:
- 1st – The Lord delivers his people
- Psalm – “The Lord has done great things for us”
- 2nd – Christ the great high priest
- Gospel – Jesus heals blind Bartimaeus
Throughout these scriptures the Lord comes with dynamic energy: liberating, saving, healing and redeeming. This is Good News! In the midst of the challenges and struggles of human life we find Jesus coming to us – meeting us where we are – with the transformative power of his grace.
With this power in mind, I would suggest two points for consideration this week:
- What in my life needs to receive the Lord’s power?
- How can I share my life to give the Lord’s power?
Let’s start with receiving. Where in my life am I wounded, hurting, or helpless? Do I identify with Bartimaeus, calling upon the Lord for pity? If so, our prayer (in private and at Mass) can be directed to heaven…asking for the grace we need to keep going.
Giving means we allow the Lord’s power to work through us. Giving requires that we see the needs of those around us, determine a proper response, and act in a manner worthy of Christ. We become the Lord’s hands and feet in service to others; our words speak encouragement and hope.
God continues to work with power in our world today, giving us all the opportunity to open our hearts to the endless grace of Christ. May we draw near to the Lord with confidence and allow his strength to work through us as we touch the hearts of those we meet.
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Note: This post was first published on October 20, 2015.
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Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks- Daily Mass: Let the Lord enter!
- Daily Mass: We receive the Good News in our hearts
- Daily Mass: We strive for God's justice and peace
- Daily Mass: The family tree of Jesus as told by Matthew
- Daily Mass: Christ invites us to do the Father's will
- Daily Mass: Teach me your ways, O Lord
- Study, Pray, Serve: 4th Sunday of Advent
- 3rd Sunday of Advent: Christ fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah
- Daily Mass: Lord make us turn to you
- Our Lady of Guadalupe inspires us to magnify the Lord
Three Great Things 